Top 14 IoT Mobile App Development Trends to Expect in 2019 (and Beyond)

In the era of digital transformation, IoT is fostering the forthcoming revolution in mobile apps. It is changing the way companies used to provide mobile app development services. Similar to mobile apps, applications of IoT are also emerging in almost every verticles. IoT has helped thousands of corporates to deliver extraordinary customer experiences by providing technological enhancements to existing mobile apps.

Experts predict that IoT is going to become a more significant player in the mobile app development business than it is right now. Bain predicts that the market share of IoT is going to increase more than double in 2021 with a staggering $520 billion compared to 4 years back in 2017 with $235 billion. Shortly, IoT is going to drive the trends of mobile app development services providers used to follow. Below are the new trends we can expect in IoT enabled mobile apps.

Enhancement in the Number of Connected Devices

The number of connected devices in increasing day after day. According to Statista, the growth in the number of connected devices is growing exponentially. It predicts that there are going to be 75.44 billion connected devices in 2025 which is almost three times of the number of connected devices in 2019: 26.66 billion. Mobile apps are going to play a significant role in connected devices as a majority of the connected devices will be mobile phones itself. As the sales of smartphones are increasing the number of connected devices are also growing.

Increase in Interoperability

Back in the early ’90s, there was a lack of clarity about which protocols and standards should be used to create IoT systems as there were too many of them. Although, the number of communication protocols and standards have increased the standardization has also been done by several institutions.

Standardization of protocols has helped mobile app development services providers to build IoT enabled mobile apps faster. Now, since the standardization has been done right, experts are trying to figure out how to create an IoT system which is compatible with both current and future standards. Once this is figured out, mobile app development services providers will be able to implement interoperability to its full capacity by merely integrating an API with their old IoT mobile app.

App Security will Increase

IoT has always been prone to hackers because of the confusion in standards and protocols. Now, as the standardization is done, companies are shifting their attention to enhance the security of IoT mobile apps. Endpoints in any IoT network are the most vulnerable points to get hacked.

With the increase in data security breaches and cybercrime, the opportunities for IoT mobile app development services providers are also increasing. Some of the custom app development companies have already changed their business model from developing apps to securing IoT mobile apps made by themselves as well as other development firms.

Data-driven Mobile App Development

Data is at the core of IoT. Connected devices produce a lot of data. We can also make them handle data coming from other sources. For example, ERP and CRM integrated enterprise apps generate a lot of data which is very important to organize. Connected devices will perform various actions that will organize data in such a way that it’ll start making sense and help enterprises to make better organizational decisions.

As the enterprise mobile apps will get better the necessity of creating an enterprise app will also increase. And hence, the concept of data-driven mobile app development will predominate.

Artificial Intelligence and IoT

Artificial intelligence has become a thriving technology. A technology that has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. Same is the case with IoT. Both IoT and AI are data-driven technologies. They both deal with a lot of data. Both technologies are used to store and analyze data. Integrating IoT and AI will help us gain better and accurate insights into various services. Bringing AI and IoT together will make the process of automation more efficient.

Machine Learning is Going to Rule

Similar to AI, Machine Learning, is yet another facilitator of automation. Machine Learning is widely used in Chatbots and Voice Bots. It has helped a lot of enterprises and startups to connect with their customers 24/7 without any human intervention. Using Apple’s Core ML and Google’s ML Kit we can create apps that’ll make connected devices smarter and more efficient in finishing various tasks.

The reason why AI and ML are going to rule the world is that they help us not only to remain in touch with the world all the time but also, improves productivity in to do our routine tasks. They have helped to automate a majority of the human tasks in various industries.

Consumer-centric Industrial IoT will prevail

IoT mobile app development services providers are evolving to deliver customer-centric IoT mobile applications. These apps will place a consumer in the center of everything. Entrepreneurs are implementing consumer IoT in the workplace to increase the productivity of the employees. The concept of consumer IoT is also aiding the smart city program running in various countries. This program aims to make the lives of people simpler and make our cities more energy efficient.

Integration of IoT in Crypto-currency

It is evident that IoT is pretty good at handling data. So, it’s high time now that we merge two of the most popular emerging technologies: IoT and Blockchain. The reason why we need to integrate IoT and Blockchain is that it will solve the longest running problem of security in connected devices. The high-security protocols of Blockchain will help govern the communication of data in various connected devices.

AR, VR and Connected Devices

AR and VR have become two of the most popular technologies in the corporate world right now. The applications of AR and VR are widespread. We combined both the technologies and created Mixed Reality. How about connecting both of them with IoT? Doing so will help us achieve a new feat in automation.

Smart connected devices will be able to deliver immersive experiences to the users. IoT and AR/VR will open new possibilities for enterprises to attract customers by arranging various marketing events and consumer-facing sessions.

The Rise of Industry Independent IoT Mobile App Development

Earlier when IoT wasn’t a buzzword, its applications were limited to specific industries. Since its inception, IoT was limited to a few sectors such as consumer retail and aerospace and armed forces. The first consumer-facing application of IoT was designed by John Romkey who turned a toaster on and off using the Internet with TCP/IP networking.

Today, if we look at the applications of IoT, we can see that they are not only spread across various verticals but also connected across industries. Enterprises are leveraging this inter-industrial IoT to deliver excellent consumer experiences, streamline supply-chain management and simplify tasks for employees. The applications of IoT in businesses is going to increase with time.

Efficient Mobile App Development

As we all know that “Automation” is the pseudonym for IoT. It has helped a plethora of companies and individuals to simplify various tasks. The lesser known fact is that it also helps mobile app developers to reduce development time. It means that the enterprises looking to develop apps from IoT mobile app development services providers will be able to spend less than their estimated amount.

IoT helps developers to reduce development time by reducing their effort to test the app created by them. Developers can utilize the extra time to build more apps or enhance features in the existing apps.

Deliver Personalized User Experience

The data collected using IoT networks can be used to deliver personalized experiences to users of a particular mobile app. As seen earlier, machine learning and IoT helps us to create smart apps. These apps can learn by themselves. So, as a user will use the app, it’ll get more intelligent and will be able to deliver personalized user experiences. The more an app will be used more personalized it will get over time.

Efficacy of Apps will Increase

In today’s world, mobile app development services providers are in a constant worry about the robustness of the app they had developed. Mobile apps need upgrade and support for application even after the deployment. If apps do not get required support post-launch, then the apps might become device dependent. It means that it’ll run only on old devices and operating systems.

IoT helps mobile app development services providers to connect their app with other devices that’ll provide support to their app. This way IoT will help existing mobile apps to increase their adaptability and efficacy.

The Rise of Developers with Enhanced Skills

IoT is a booming concept in today’s world. The requirement of IoT mobile app development services providers and developers will increase in the upcoming years. But, as the technology is spreading not only horizontally but also vertically, we’ll need specialized developers who will have in-depth knowledge of a specific domain in IoT mobile app development. This will require the existing IoT mobile app developers to learn new skills and possibly new languages as well.

Conclusion

IoT has great potential to bring revolutionary changes in current mobile app development trends. It is going to open up immense possibilities for everyone related to this field. Whether it is a mobile app development services provider or it is a product based firm or an enterprise. Directly or Indirectly, IoT is going to drive the future of all industries, businesses, and individuals.

CTO @Credencys Solutions Inc.

Sagar holds the position of Chief Technology Officer at Credencys Solutions Inc., a Mobile App Development Company. He is responsible for all the technical operations, as well as leading the company’s revolutionary offerings. He is helping companies navigate the Digital journey in an Agile environment. Share your app idea at sagar@credencys.com.
Sagar has two main areas of focus - Technology and Processes. He has worked in leadership positions in various Fortune 500 companies and has been instrumental in driving success through digital transformation. He is also an enthusiastic Agile Coach.